maraba Rwanda

maraba, rwanda

Fruity, full bodied and perfectly balanced. The world's first Rwandan specialty coffee. Grown by Abahuzamugambi Ba Kawa (though we just call them Maraba). We began trading with Maraba in 2002. They were just a small group of farmers, back then. Today, they’re a co-operative of 1,500.

abahuzamugambi ba kawa, huye, maraba, Rwanda

Abahuzamugambi ba kawa, but we prefer to call them Maraba, is the umbrella cooperative organization that oversees and manages the activities of four coffee washing stations; Sovu, Kibingo; Kabuye and Cyarumbu. These are equivalent to the micromills of Central America. The cooperative has 1372 members of which 768 male (56%) and 518 female (44%). The coffee producers are from various sectors of Huye district. These producers are really tiny scale; on average each farmer has 435 trees. What we like about Maraba is that it provides several social functions as well coffee production. Rwandese are obligated to have medical insurance.

But for poor, rural families is a great cost, and not all families can afford to pay this. Therefore, the income the cooperative earns from producing coffee is used to pay medical insurance for two family members. Similarly school fees for poor rural families are expensive. The school year in Rwanda starts in January before the harvest in April. But in January many families have run out of cash, so we support the cooperative by advancing the school fees which producers pay back in coffee production. The cooperative also provides micro-credit for emergency or a special event such as a wedding. These credits can be repaid with coffee cherry. They have constructed a TELE-CENTER a place where villagers can print and copy, and internet available where members can take a computer courses.

It can take several hours for producers to carry their coffee cherries to the CWS, to facilitate the transport of the coffee cherries by producers the cooperative has established collection points where farmers can deliver their freshly picked crop. Here the coffee is weighed then collected by truck and taken to the CWS. These producers without means of transport can still sell their coffee to the cooperative. The Coffee Washing Station operation has created a lot of seasonal employment in an area where there is little economic activity. Men and women have the opportunity for a job to process, dry or hand sort and select the coffee. At each harvest hundreds of workers are contracted to perform these tasks.

Abahuzamugambi Ba Kawa ise one of the first Union Direct Trade relationships we established in 2002. And it is heartening that all their efforts and ours, over the past years have been very fruitful. Every year the cooperative has won various prizes in the Taste of Harvest competition and the Cup of Excellence (CoE), taking top places. Here, we offer a preparation, specially hand-selected for us that the farmers call an “exceptional lot”.

The Union relationship is not “just a buyer”, but to provide long-term support to Maraba so that farmers we engage with can prosper:

Union Hand-Roasted Coffee provides:-

- Minimum purchasing commitment to give members of the co-operative with the security they need to invest in their land and locality.

- Forward financing, either directly or via financing agencies. This ensures cash is available to pay farmers at the time of picking and also enables essential supplies that directly affect coffee quality to be purchased.

- Visits at least every 12 months to develop strategy for the season, to assess quality and review for the following year.

- New projects to improve capacity building and strengthen governance and leadership within the co-operative.

Through our combined efforts the local district has transformed itself; building a clinic, bank, bustling twice-weekly farmers market, primary & secondary level schooling, and even 6 hairdressers and other ancillary shops and services have opened – creating a genuine sense of community where once there was only poverty and despair. Much progress has been made at the Co-operative level: purchasing trucks to collect and deliver coffee cherries to washing stations, installation of groundwater treatment facilities to ensure no contamination of the environment and construction of additional coffee washing stations have increased capacity and hence income.

Delivery Information for this product

UK

We aim to despatch all orders within 2 working days of receiving them. During peak mail order periods (for instance, Christmas or other promotional activities), this timeframe may be extended slightly, although every effort will be made to despatch your order as soon as possible.

All our coffees are roasted to order so we require at least one working day before we can despatch your order

UK DELIVERY INFORMATION

Standard delivery is charged at £2 per order (mainland UK)
For all orders over £15 (before delivery) or over 2KG in weight, delivery is FREE

Convenient Delivery packaging

In an effort to reduce wasteful packaging and also make delivery more convenient for you. If your order is 2 x 200g bags of coffee or less your delivery will be sent in a box designed to fit through your letterbox. So you no longer need to wait in for your Union Coffee delivery.N.B not all letterboxes are made equal. Our boxes are designed to meet the Royal Mail letterbox guidelines, sadly this doesn't cover all letterboxes. We've discovered that older houses can often have unusual dimensions and the box may not fit through.

Our Couriers

For all 1 & 2 x 200g Coffee Orders your delivery will be sent First Class Royal Mail
For all Orders of 3 x 200g, 1kg, accessories and gifts are sent recorded delivery via DPD

International

We are happy to deliver to international addresses. Orders need to be placed with a valid postcode/zipcode to allow our couriers to locate and quote for correct shipping cost.

If you would rather order by phone, please call the Roastery on +44 20 7474 8990 and we will happily take your order and quote for shipping if relevant.

Where goods are unavailable, or out of stock, Union Hand-Roasted will advise customers appropriately through the online shop or by email or phone where those have been provided with an order.Re-orders of previous shipments can be done easily through the 'my account' section of the website. If one or more products is out of stock, the re-order link will not be visible. Please check individual products required, or select alternatives.

Our online shop no longer has a minimum transaction value.

Returns and refunds

If you are unsatisfied with the contents of your despatch you must contact us, either by telephone or email within 24 hours of receipt to inform us of your issue.

Union Hand-Roasted does not refund or exchange coffees, teas etc. if ordered incorrectly through our website.

maraba

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